My breeder said something to me the other day that kind of shocked me. She told me that she feeds her Newfs raw chicken. :eek: I have never fed any of my dogs anything raw except for maybe apples or other fruit. I have seen alot of threads about different dog foods and have noticed that some of you say that you feed raw. Aren't you worried about parasites, salmonella, worms, etc? Do you feed normal dog food as well? Thanks!

Prin

April 22nd, 2005, 05:43 PM

I don't do it. You should search the forums for "raw diet" and see the threads you'll come up with. We've had some sort of heated debates on the subject...

Lucky Rescue

April 22nd, 2005, 06:36 PM

When you think about wild dog species - coyotes, wolves, dingos, cape hunting dogs - no one is there to give them kibble and everything they eat is raw.:p

Raws diets are quite popular and as long as you feed human grade meat, you shouldn't have to worry overly about complications.

kandy

April 22nd, 2005, 06:45 PM

I never thought about Wild dogs - and I had a friend who had a 3/4 wolf who he let catch rabbits and eat them and he never got sick. Maybe I am just too paranoid about things but I don't think that I'll ever give my dog raw chicken. I just thought I would see how many of you feed raw and the reasoning behind it. Thanks for the replies!

Prin

April 22nd, 2005, 06:51 PM

Go here:
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=13209&highlight=raw+diet
Raw for cats: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=13493&highlight=raw+diet
and this is a thread about what foods everybody here uses:
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=13893&highlight=raw+diet

heeler's rock!

April 22nd, 2005, 07:26 PM

I feed my border raw. She eats whole ground up chicken, bones and all. A dog's digestive system is shorter than a humans, so they pass their food and digest quicker, reducing the risk of salmonella and parasites and such. the food we buy is prepackaged and comes with fruit and veggies mixed in. It's been great for her, and she's loved every bite! :p :o

It's really up to the owner, but in our case her digestive system was used to raw food as her mother was on a raw diet. She couldn't digest kibble, and she'd either throw up, or poop everywhere. Not pretty. We feed our heeler's kibble, but it's Innova Evo so there are no grains. It's like raw food, in kibble form. It's AMAZING if you want to feed raw for the the health benefits, but don't have time, patience, the stomach for it, etc. :p We just can't afford 3 dogs on raw, so 2 get kibble, one gets raw! :)

CyberKitten

April 22nd, 2005, 08:40 PM

I feed my Siamese raw chicken hearts. She loves them!! The Sphynx also eat some raw chicken now and then as a treat. (and for health reasons their mom has them on a certain diet)

BoxerRescueMTL

April 22nd, 2005, 09:41 PM

my boys are on a raw diet. they are the picture of health!

Kayla and Me

April 22nd, 2005, 09:50 PM

my boys are on a raw diet. they are the picture of health!

One thing that I have been curious about....When you start the raw diet, how do you wean your dog into it? Do you feed 1/2 raw half kibble, or do you just do the switch in one day? Also, how do you figure out how much raw is right for a 60lb dog? I've done some research on this, but can't seem to find the answers I seek. Help!

Kayla and Me

BoxerRescueMTL

April 22nd, 2005, 10:03 PM

well i can't tell you how much to feed your dog to maintain his proper weight as all dogs vary...you should probably get a good raw diet book before making any changes. i like "raw meaty bones promote health" by tom lonsdale.
also, a member on pets.ca, Carina, actually wrote a book on the topic..the name slips my mind right now but i'm sure someone else on the board can remind us. you can also join a yahoo group, i like this one: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RawDogCanada/ you can ask them anything.

100%doglover

April 22nd, 2005, 10:17 PM

My shepherd developed problems with kibble about 8 years ago and nothing I did helped. So after a lot of research I started cooking for her, quite time consuming but well worth it, her health improved significantly! Thanks to the "recent" boom in people feeding raw food though, I've been buying her food (brands like Healthy Paws, Pets4Life etc.). I wouldn't have it any other way but am afraid that I won't be able to afford feeding any future dogs raw food as we intend to have more than one and it's pretty pricey.

I don't think my "old lady" would be around, or at least not this healthy at the age of 11 if it wasn't for her diet!

Natasa

April 22nd, 2005, 10:18 PM

Both of mine have been on raw food only since they were pups. They’ve never had kibble and they are 5 and 2 ˝ years old now. They eat every type of meat and bone and most veggies and fruit, with an occasional egg, cottage cheese and such. The only grains they get is what they get from eating dog cookies and that very little.
I personally wouldn’t feed anything else but raw.

One thing that I have been curious about....When you start the raw diet, how do you wean your dog into it? Do you feed 1/2 raw half kibble, or do you just do the switch in one day? Also, how do you figure out how much raw is right for a 60lb dog? I've done some research on this, but can't seem to find the answers I seek. Help!

I’d switch in one day. I don't like mixing raw and kibble, as it can cause some digestive problems (different digestive times and different digestive enzymes needed).
Basic rule of feeding raw for adults is that you feed between 1-3% of their body weight, depending on how active they are and what are their personal needs. Most pet dogs don't need more than 1 or 2%, with working dogs needing more. But those are just basic rules, as all dogs have different requirements. One of mine gets less food that the other one even though they both similar weigh.

greaterdane

April 22nd, 2005, 10:23 PM

I just want to mention one thing. Never feed RAW and kibble at the same time! Kibble does not digest as quickly as the raw meat and will often keep the meat in your dogs stomach giving it time to grow bacteria, parasites etc. Its either Raw or kibble, never combine the two together. Just my 2 cents.

Kayla and Me

April 22nd, 2005, 10:40 PM

I just want to mention one thing. Never feed RAW and kibble at the same time! Kibble does not digest as quickly as the raw meat and will often keep the meat in your dogs stomach giving it time to grow bacteria, parasites etc. Its either Raw or kibble, never combine the two together. Just my 2 cents.

Great advice folks. So can I assume that if I give my 60lb Pitbull about a pound of raw food a day it should be enough? She's not very active, because I'm old and not as energetic as she is...LOL but she does seem to want to eat all the time.

Kayla and Me

heeler's rock!

April 23rd, 2005, 12:06 PM

The raw I feed says to feed about 2%-3% of their body weight if they're over the age of 2, and 4%-5% of their weight if they're younger than 2. So, for a 60lb dog, you should feed roughly 2 lbs of food per day if she's older than 2. If she's not, feed roughly about 3 lbs per day. Oh, and ofcourse watch her weight and if she gains more than she should, cut back, and if she needs more, feed more. We feed our 1.5 yr old border about 1 1/2 lbs per day as she started gaining quite a bit and wouldn't eat more than she could.

And yes, kibble and raw food should never be mixed as kibble does take longer to digest, and could couse your dog to catch parasites from the raw food. When we switched our dog to raw, we fasted her by skipping dinner. She ate breakfast, no dinner, and then had raw for breakfast the next day. That's so she can digest all the remaining kibble in her system, and get rid of it. Hope this helps!! :D